A canvas Haversack was issued to
infantry troops to carry rations and personal effects. The shoulder strap is 1-3/4"
to 2" wide by 44" to 49" long. The width of the bag when flattened measures
approx. 12-1/2" and is 12 to 14" tall with the flap closed. Bottom gusset
measures 10" by 3". Leather strap is 5/8" wide with a 5/8" Japanned
roller buckle. These haversacks are made from untreated light duck cloth and sewn with
cotton thread. Leather strap has Japanned roller buckle, proper inspector and makers
marks. Available in black oil paint.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - Archeologists expect to recover personal belongings of
crewmen from the H.L. Hunley, the Confederate Civil War vessel that became the first
submarine to sink an enemy ship in battle, when excavation resumes in October, officials
said on Thursday.

X-rays of solidified sediment in the cramped 43-foot-long vessel revealed a glass
medicine bottle and two tin canteens lying under a wooden bench, where archeologists also
expect to find canvas bags containing personal items stowed there by the crew.

``Soldiers of that time wore haversacks and canvas bags on a sling in which they
carried their personal possessions like diaries, pictures, and utensils. The odds are that
this would be the area where they would have stored these bags,'' state Sen. Glenn
McConnell, chairman of the Hunley Commission, said.

The steel-hulled Hunley, with a crew of nine on board, sank on Feb. 17, 1864, shortly
after plunging a spar loaded with explosives into the wooden hull of the USS Housatonic,
part of a Union blockade of the port of Charleston.

The submarine was recovered last August and taken to a custom-built laboratory in
Charleston, where archeologists have worked to remove artifacts and remains from sediment
that filled the vessel's interior as it lay on the sea floor.

Before suspending excavation work for the summer, archeologists removed remains of the
nine crew members, along with artifacts that included a gold coin carried by the captain
and a lantern used to signal that the submarine was returning to shore before it sank
mysteriously.

When excavation resumes in October, archeologists will resume their search both for
artifacts and answers to the mystery of why the submarine sank.

``The excavation in the fall will be comparable to reading a good mystery book with
each day being a new page revealing more about the characters and uncovering more of the
clues to solving the mystery of what happened on the final voyage,'' McConnell said in a
statement issued by the Friends of the Hunley, a nonprofit group underwriting the
excavation and conservation work.